Mesmerized
by CrystalMasaki
Summary: A day at the beach, and a disaster brings Cloud and Aeris... closer. [completed]


[mesmerized]  
  
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Note: This is when the gang goes to Costa del Sol after they were on the cargo ship. About half lines from the game, and half made up. Just thought you might like to know.  
  
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"Damn," Barret said as the gang got off the ShinRa Cargo ship. He wiped his forehead, sweaty. "Sure is hot here! But I sure feel better now that I can say goodbye to this sailor suit. Yo listen up!! Y'all be sure to mingle like regular folks here!"  
  
"Oh, too bad," Aeris said, "I liked Barret's sailor suit. He looked so cute." She smiled at Barret.  
  
Barret felt a little embraced, something that never happened to him. "... What'ya mean 'cute'?" He looked at her.   
  
Tifa stepped forward. "Right... well uh... Barret, why don't you use that Sailor suit for pajamas? Right, Cloud?" Aeris and Tifa turned to look at Cloud.  
  
"I guess," Cloud started laughing. "Ahhh... you look like a bear wearing a marshmallow."  
  
"The hell's that supposed to mean!? This happens to be the most comfortable, so shu'up!"   
  
Red XIII was getting aggravated with everyone's standing around. He sat on his hind legs, "Would you kindly hurry? The heat here is drying my nose."  
  
Yuffie jumped up, "Yeah, mine, too!"  
  
Cloud's right eyebrow cocked up at Yuffie's comment. He nodded. "All right, we'll take a break, and then head off. Don't wander too far off."  
  
Barret glared at Cloud, "I'll wander wherever I damn well want! Who made him the leader?" He looked at Aeris, she laughed. Barret walked off, along with Red XII.   
  
Tifa sighed, "I think I'll go swimming... Yuffie, Aeris, want to go shop for some swimsuits?"   
  
"All right!" Yuffie cheered, "I need a tan."   
  
"Aeris?" They both said in unison.   
  
Cloud, interested, looked at Aeris.   
  
"Well sure, why not. It's not every day we're at a beach. But there's one problem..."   
  
"What?" Yuffie asked.   
  
"Well... do you have any gil? I don't..."   
  
Tifa searched her pockets. "I can't believe this! I'm flat broke!"   
  
"Same here!" Yuffie said. "Damn."  
  
'Uh oh,' Cloud thought. This was his cue to leave before they hounded him.  
  
"Oh Cloud..." Yuffie and Tifa smiled widely at him.   
  
"Can you loan us some money?" Tifa asked.  
  
"Uh, I..."   
  
"C'mon Cloud!! Don't you want to see me in a bikini??" Yuffie whined loudly making the men nearby whistle.   
  
Cloud looked around at the excited old men. "Uh... Can you keep quiet!?"  
  
"Please, please, please, Cloud!" Tifa begged. "I'll pay you back, I swear."   
  
Cloud looked to Aeris to hear what she had to say. She shrugged. "Alright, alright," He gave in. 'I knew this was going to cost me...' "How much? Or should I even ask..."   
  
"Hmmmm..." The all pondered. "400 would be just fine!" Yuffie said.  
  
"Yes, just fine." Tifa nodded.   
  
"EACH!?" Cloud yelled.   
  
"OK, OK, fine, 250." Tifa compromised.  
  
Cloud got an extremely irritated look on his face. "Fine, fine," He took out 750 gil and split it up. He handed it to Tifa and Yuffie who were eagerly waiting for him to give them gil.   
  
"Thanks!" They both said, happily.   
  
"And, Aeris," He put the money in her hand.  
  
"Thanks, Cloud!" She smiled at him. All three girls happily ran off.   
  
Cloud sighed "Oh man..." he scratched the back of his head, and walked into Costa del Sol. He walked inside the closest inn, tiredly.   
  
"Hello there, Sir." The man behind the counter said.  
  
"Uh, hi." Cloud said.  
  
"Are you interested in a room?"   
  
"Ya think?"  
  
'Gee, Mr. attitude.' "How many?"  
  
"Six."  
  
"Alright, that will be... 2000 gil for the deluxe rooms, total."  
  
"I didn't want 'deluxe rooms'." He said, aggravated.  
  
"Yes, I know sir, but that's all that are left."   
  
'They all owe me... All of them...' He put the money down, and got three keys. 'Great, now I'm responsible for keys...' He walked into the first room and fell onto the bed. "Damn, it's hotter than I thought..." He closed his eyes, puckering his bottom lip up and blowing air up on his face. When he realized it was basically futile to get cool that way, he pulled off his suspenders, armor, then and his shirt.   
  
He walked into the bathroom and got a cloth. He wet, and dabbed it on his face, arms, and chest. Then he thought about how nice, cool, beach water would feel. 'Why not, might as well make the best out of it while I'm here.' He looked into the closet and found swimming gear, a few shirts, nightwear, and various other items for the beach. 'I gave them all that gil when there are bathing suits right here for free...' He shook his head and changed into a pair of dark blue swimming shorts with two strips going down each side, that came down to his knees. He put his clothes, folded, on the bed, and his shoes next to it. Then he grabbed a towel, and walked outside.   
  
The sun seemed brighter than it was when they got there, but he felt much cooler. He walked out onto the yellow pavement, and walked down some stairs, leading to the beach. The sand was hot and stung his feet, but not to the point it actually hurt.   
  
Cloud looked up and saw Aeris, Tifa, and Yuffie in lawn chairs, under a very large umbrella, lounging on the beach. Each one had a sun hat, a new swimsuit, sandals, and sunglasses. He cleared his throat loud enough so they would hear it. All three girls turned to him.  
  
"Hi Cloud!" They said together.   
  
"Hello, girls," He said in an annoyed voice.   
  
"Cloud, don't you just love our suits?" Yuffie asked, snickering.   
  
Tifa was wearing a red string bikini without shoulder straps and Yuffie was wearing a very revealing lime green, and ice blue bikini. Aeris had on a flowered bikini that looked like a regular swimming top with very, very, short shorts. He never imagined he would see so much of Aeris' skin at one time. Tifa and Yuffie's choice of swimwear didn't surprise him since they always dressed in little. Taking by surprise, he stared at Aeris, not thinking of how ridiculous he looked just standing there and starring.   
  
"Cloud? What do you think?" Yuffie persisted.  
  
"They're... great..." He said, eyes not blinking, still stunned by Aeris.  
  
Tifa kicked Cloud in the shin. "Hey what's your problem, Cloud?" She didn't really no what he was starring at.  
  
"Ow!" Cloud's eyes widened, and his cheeks turned red, he turned around. "No problem, Tifa..."  
  
Tifa rolled her eyes and looked to the left. She jerked her head down, making her sunglasses fall down her nose slightly, and looked at a man in a lab coat. "Cloud, isn't that...?"   
  
Aeris turned her attention to were Tifa was looking, "Hojo?"   
  
Yuffie and Cloud looked. "It is him!" Cloud looked. "Why the hell is he wearing a lab coat in this weather?"  
  
"Uh, Cloud, don't you think you should worry about more than what he's wearing right now?" Tifa asked.   
  
"Well yeah but look at him, Cloud's got a point, Tifa," Yuffie nodded.   
  
"God..." Tifa pulled Cloud's arm. "Let's go talk to him." Tifa motioned for Aeris and Yuffie to follow. Cloud shrugged and walked to Hojo, who was laying on his stomach on a lawn chair, and surprisingly surrounded by women.   
  
Tifa's eyebrows went up and she whispered, "Why would so many women want to be around HIM?"  
  
Yuffie laughed, and Aeris shrugged.   
  
Cloud walked to one girl, "Is that man Hojo?"  
  
The girl snobbishly looked a cloud, "Woah, who are YOU?"  
  
"I want to talk with Hojo."  
  
"Professor Hojo, the scary man says he wants to talk with you."  
  
Hojo moaned. "I'm busy right now." Hojo looked at Cloud from the corner of his eye. "I remember you all..." He got up and stood on the chair. "Yes, yes, I remember now. It's been a long time, Cloud."  
  
"Hojo..."  
  
Hojo laughed, "Sometimes you just gotta do something like this."  
  
"What are you doing?" Cloud asked.  
  
"Hmph, it should be obvious, I'm getting a tan."  
  
"Lord knows you need one more than I do..." Yuffie said while laughing.   
  
Hojo gets closer to Yuffie. "I don't believe I've seen this fine young woman before.  
  
"Eck, get away, pervert." Yuffie jumped back.   
  
Cloud was getting impatient. "Answer me!"  
  
After quickly looking over Tifa and Aeris, he turned to Cloud. "Hmm! I believe we're both after the same goal!"  
  
Cloud thinks a moment, "You mean Sephiroth?"  
  
Hojo looked up at him. "Did you see him?" Cloud nods. "I see... ha! Ha!" He gets off the chair and onto the sand.   
  
"What is it?" Cloud asked.  
  
Hojo starts laughing like a maniac, and glances at Cloud. "Nothing. I just remembered a certain hypothesis. Haven't you ever had the feeling someone is calling you? Or that you had to visit some place?   
  
Cloud makes a fist, "I'll go anywhere Sephiroth is at! To beat him and put an end to all this!"  
  
"I see... this could be interesting. Where you in SOLDIER? Heh heh heh! Would you like to be my guinea pig?"  
  
This pisses Cloud off even more. He takes a step back and glares at Hojo, getting into a fighting stance.   
  
"Oh, now what? Are you going to draw your sword?"  
  
Tifa's eyebrows knit together. "Shut up!"   
  
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" He looks at Aeris, looking her up and down. "Aren't you the ancient?"  
  
"I'm Aeris. The least you can do is remember my name." She leans forward. "I want you to tell me something, Professor Hojo. I know I'm an ancient. My mother told me."  
  
"You're mother? Of, you mean Ifalna. How is she?  
  
"You didn't know?" Aeris looks to the sand. "She died."  
  
Hojo turns around, "I see..."  
  
Aeris leans forward again. "Professor Hojo? Is Jenova an ancient? Is Sephiroth an ancient? Do we all have the same blood?"  
  
Hojo starts mumbling.   
  
"He's mumbling, slowly... must mean he he's hiding something!"   
  
Hojo starts walking off.  
  
"Hey! Answer us!" Tifa demanded.  
  
Cloud shrugs his shoulders. "It's no use... no go."   
  
Tifa looks at Hojo who's almost out of sight. "I wonder what he knows..."   
  
"I really... really... REALLY don't like that guy!" Yuffie said.   
  
Aeris sighed, "Well forget about him, let's go in the water! Come on, Cloud!" Aeris got hold of Cloud's arm, which made him redden in the face.   
  
"Yeah, let's take our minds off of everything while we can," Tifa agreed. "This may be the last time we can have real fun together."   
  
"Hey you guys..." Yuffie said.   
  
Cloud, Aeris, and Tifa looked at her. "...?"   
  
"Race you!" She challenged all three of them.  
  
They all ran to the ocean. Yuffie was a head for a while until Cloud caught up and beat her into the water. Tifa huffed and puffed while slouching with her hands on her knees. "You just got lucky," she pulled herself into the water.   
  
Aeris stopped moving forward when the water reached her thigh.  
  
"Come on in Aeris," Yuffie said while floating on her back, and kicking some water on Cloud for beating her.   
  
"I really don't want too get wet."   
  
"Why not? You did suggest this." Tifa reminded her.  
  
"I just meant to get in... not to swim."   
  
"Chickening out Aeris? Or sad because you lost big time?" Yuffie teased, trying to get her to come in the crystal clear water.  
  
"No," She put her hands on her hips, "Of course not."   
  
"The water hardly reaches our shoulders, chill out!" Yuffie said as-a-matter-of-factly. "You don't need to be swimming."  
  
"Psst, Cloud," Tifa whispered.  
  
Cloud looked over at Tifa who made a pushing movement with her hands. "Ah, got it," He smiled and crept behind Aeris. She didn't even notice since she was busy bickering with Yuffie.  
  
Yuffie started laughing when she realized Cloud and Tifa's plan.   
  
"And what is so funny Yuffie?"  
  
"Hee! hee! ha! ha! Nothing Aeris, you don't have to come into the water if you don't want to. Ha! Ha! Ha!"   
  
Aeris stared at her, wondering why she'd changed her mind all of a sudden. It was suspicious. Then she didn't see Cloud anywhere in sight. "Hey where's..." Two arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her under the water interrupted her. "Ah!"   
  
Under the water, Aeris could her Cloud's laughed muffled by the water. His arms where still wrapped around her waist. Without knowing, Cloud's right hand slid down to her thigh, causing them both to shoot out of the water.   
  
Aeris was red, and gasped for air. "Cloud!" He scratched his head while his face was completely flushed.  
  
All three of them laughed at Aeris.  
  
"You think that's funny?" Aeris asked the question to the most obvious answer. "Hmph," she turned the other way.   
  
"Come on Aeris," Tifa said, "It's just water."   
  
"I know... you're right..." Aeris nodded and turned around, looking at Cloud with a grin on her face. He nervously ran his hand through his hair.  
  
Yuffie splashed water onto Aeris. "Ha! Ha! You're like a cat or something, afraid of the water." She splashed more on her.   
  
"Yuffie!" Aeris got frustrated and splashed a riffle of water onto her.   
  
Yuffie choked on the salty water, "Hey!" Yuffie splashed more water on Aeris, and ducked under the water before Aeris got a change to spike her back. She came back up and decided to stop the water fight for a while. "You guys, let's swim out further." Yuffie suggested.  
  
"Alright," Cloud agreed.  
  
Tifa nodded.  
  
"Wait..." Aeris protested.  
  
"What's wrong, Aeris?" Tifa asked.  
  
Aeris blushed "Well I really can't swim very well... or stay in deep water without sinking..."   
  
Tifa blinked "Really?"  
  
Aeris sheepishly nodded, all three of them looked at her.  
  
"No wonder you didn't want to swim!" Yuffie pointed out.  
  
Aeris rolled her eyes. "Big deal... I'm not the only one in the world."   
  
Yuffie laughed. "Ha! Ha! Whatever!"  
  
Cloud looked at Aeris, "Here," He offered her his hand. "Just hold on to my hand, don't worry about it."   
  
Aeris' blush became fiercer as she nervously reached out to Cloud's hand and held onto it.   
  
"Alright... Let's go," Tifa said. Her and Yuffie swam out.   
  
"If you get scared or something, let me know..." Cloud reassured her. He slowly started pulling her into deeper water.   
  
Aeris's feet slowly shifted off the sand, and soon enough she couldn't feel it any more. She tightened her grip on Cloud's hand, and started feeling a bit uneasy.  
  
Cloud noticed this and put his arm slightly around her waist. "Relax, I won't let anything happen to you." Aeris looked up at him, a warmth spreading through her, she nodded.   
  
"The water feels nicer out here," Tifa said, kicking back and floating, Yuffie did the same.   
  
"I know, it's warmer too." Yuffie ran her fingers through it. "But the waves are pretty j-jerky." She said as a wave slightly pushed her up.   
  
Aeris eyed the water, feeling very nervous about it.   
  
"Are you alright?" Cloud asked, her.   
  
She nodded, "Y, yeah."   
  
"Uh... You guys um..." Tifa stuttered. "There's a... uh..." She pointed to a large wave at least ten feet tall heading their way. It seemed to grow by the second.   
  
"What is--" Yuffie turned around. "I-t, aaah!" Her eyes widened at the wave's size.   
  
"Holy shit!" Cloud muttered, "Aeris hold on!" He said as the wave curved over all four of them. He held her tightly, but the wave's force was too much. He went from completely holding her to barley grasping her hand. Water rushed underneath them, pulling Aeris further in the ocean.   
  
"Aeris!" All three of them shouted.   
  
Aeris screamed as she was pulled under the water in less than a second.  
  
Cloud took a deep breath and plunged himself into the water.  
  
"Yuffie!" Tifa shouted "A boat, go get one of those boats!" She pointed to the shore, which seemed pretty far off.  
  
Yuffie quickly started off to the shore, swimming as fast as she could.  
  
Tifa turned back to the water, looking to see if Cloud was coming up yet. She bit her bottom lip. She'd never been so worried in her life.   
  
Under the water, Cloud struggled with the current, eyes burning. 'Aeris, where are you!?' He started running out of breath, but he pushed himself, and went deeper. And finally he saw her. She was at the bottom of the ocean, floating a little above the earth. He swam to her, but right before he touched her, his breath completely ran out. His eyes grew heavy and they shut.  
  
'Just a little further... you're almost there,' a voice inside his head called to him. 'just a little bit more... don't give up now, you're so close, it's not time for it to end this way' Cloud's eyes opend and he grabbed onto Aeris, suddenly having more strength then before, and swam to the surface. As soon as he reached it, the strength disappeared.   
  
"Cloud!" Tifa cried happily, she quickly swam over to him and helped him hold Aeris. He was gasping for air.  
  
"Tifa! Cloud!" Yuffie shouted as she came back with a small motorboat.   
  
Tifa put one of Aeris' arms around her shoulders. "Yuffie help Cloud up, I'll get Aeris!"   
  
Yuffie nodded and grabbed hold of Cloud's hand. He barley had enough energy to pull himself up onto the boat. Yuffie looked at him for a second, then turned to Tifa. "You alright?" She asked.  
  
Tifa nodded, "Yeah, help me with her." She pulled Aeris to the side of the boat. Yuffie grabbed her arms and pulled her up. Cloud got hold of her and laid her down, still out breath.   
  
"Tifa, hurry!" Yuffie shouted.  
  
Tifa pulled herself onto the boat, and then they approached the shore.   
  
"Cloud! Cloud, are you alright?" Tifa touched his shoulder.   
  
Cloud nodded. "Yes... but..." He looked at Aeris.  
  
Tifa moved over to Aeris and reached for her wrist, feeling for a pulse. "There's hardley any pulse, Cloud!"   
  
Cloud's eyes widened. "What!?" He felt her wrist. "Oh god..."   
  
"Hurry, hurry, get her out before she dies!" Yuffie yelled as the reached the shore.   
  
Cloud picked up Aeris and set her on the sand. The people that were on the beach gathered around him, gasping.   
  
"Cloud! CPR!" Tifa shouted at him. "Hurry up!" She clenched her fists.   
  
Cloud nervously nodded and listened for her breath. There wasn't any. He pinched her nose shut, brought his mouth to hers, and blew into hers. Aeris' chest rose, then went back down, he blew in once more until her chest rose once more. He felt her neck for a pulse for ten seconds. There wasn't one. 'Oh god, no...'  
  
His hands shaking, he found the place on her chest to pump. Once he did, he pushed down, "Tifa count fifteen," he ordered her, quickly.   
  
"One, two, three, four, five, six," Cloud continued to pump her chest. "... seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen." Cloud stopped pushing down and listened for her breathing. Still no sign of it.  
  
Cloud pressed his mouth onto hers two more times, blowing in air, his stomach tightened up.  
  
Yuffie's eyes started tearing up. "Cloud..." she whispered, afraid, nervous.   
  
Cloud checked for breathing. Still, nothing.  
  
He put his hands on her chest, Tifa got ready to count.   
  
"One, two, three, four," Tifa felt herself loosing hope. "... five, six, seven..." Tears started falling out of her eyes, onto her already wet cheeks. "Eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen."   
  
Cloud checked again. Nothing. 'Aeris, wake up!' He breathed into her. 'Please wake up.' Chest rising, falling, pumping, breathing. Nothing.  
  
Yuffie sighed. "It's... hopeless..." She looked down.  
  
"No, Yuffie, no!" He kept on trying. Cloud put his mouth onto hers once again, blowing air into her. He watched her chest rise. When nothing happened he started panicking more than he was before, tears starting to stream out of his eyes, as he breathed into her again. "Tifa, count." He said, shaking.   
  
Tifa hated to see Cloud like this, and didn't want to admit it, but it started to look like Aeris awakening was futile. "One, two, three..." Tifa counted to fifteen.  
  
Cloud, once again, checked for breathing. There was nothing. "No... no... no..." Cloud held Aeris. "No..." He closed his eyes, holding onto her. 'Please Aeris... wake up... for me...' As if on cue, Aeris started chocking up water. Cloud's eyes shot open and he looked at her, water bubbling out of her mouth.   
  
"Aeris!" Tifa shouted, relieved.   
  
Aeris' eyes opend, tears falling from them. "C-cloud," she said, heaving for air.  
  
"Aeris!" Cloud hugged her tightly.  
  
The people around started cheering for Cloud.   
  
"Oh my god..." Aeris put her hand over her mouth, scared at what had happened. She closed her eyes and cried in his chest.  
  
"Cloud, here," Yuffie said, handing him a small white quilt.   
  
Cloud wrapped it around Aeris and picked her up. "Tifa, Yuffie..."   
  
They followed behind him, walking quickly to the inn.   
  
When they got there, Cloud hurried inside.  
  
"Woah! Cloud, what happened?" Barret asked upon noticing him.  
  
Cloud didn't answer, so Yuffie did, "Aeris almost died, and Cloud saved her!"  
  
"WHAT!?" Red XIII questioned.  
  
"You heard me."   
  
They all followed Cloud into his room where he laid Aeris on his bed, knocking his clothes he left on it onto the floor. "Are you alright?" Tifa asked.   
  
Aeris nodded. "... Yes, I'm OK." Her voice sounded cracked.   
  
"Damn, exactly WHAT happened?" Barret asked.   
  
Tifa looked at Cloud and Aeris. "Come on, we'll tell you in the other room." Tifa, Red XIII, and Barret started walking out of the room, Yuffie still stood there. "Yuffie!" She called.  
  
"OH! Right!" She followed and closed the door.   
  
"So... you're okay?" Cloud asked.   
  
Aeris nodded, then looked down, biting her lip. "Cloud I..." She buried her head into her hands and started crying.  
  
Cloud starred at her. "Aeris, what's the matter?" He put his arms on her bare shoulders. "Why are you...?"  
  
"Cloud, I could have died today..." She looked up into his eyes. "And I would never had the chance to tell you... how I feel..."   
  
"What do you mean?" He asked, confused.  
  
Aeris reached out and held onto his hands, "How I feel, Cloud... about you." She looked to the ground.   
  
Cloud looked at her, not saying anything.   
  
"I... I love you, Cloud... " At those words Cloud felt his heart stop. Aeris looked at him, hoping she hadn't scared him. "... And when I felt my eyes closing, my breath running out... the only thing I could think about was you. Your smile... How I would never get the chance to tell you that I am..." She looked at him, he was still. "...in love with you..."  
  
Cloud turned around, looking at the wall. 'She... loves me?'   
  
Aeris hesitantly wrapped her arms around Cloud, resting her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes. "I don't want you to feel like your obligated to say anything back, I just want you know how I feel. Because this might be my last chance to tell you."   
  
"Aeris." He turned around and raised his hand to her cheek, touching it lightly. "I've never told you how I felt... about you..." He closed his eyes, then re-opend them, touching her nose with his. "I'm in love with you too... Aeris."  
  
"Cloud I..." Aeris started, but Cloud put a finger over her lips, then replaced his fingers with his lips. Aeris' eyes widened, but she slowly closed them and kissed him back. Loving his lips on hers, and wanting to stay with him like that for eternity.  
  
Cloud rested his hands on her slender waist, and slowly ran his tongue into her mouth, getting slightly adventurous of her mouth.   
  
Aeris's tongue danced around with his in a slow, sensual motion. She ran a hand through his hair, a small moan escaped her lips as they kissed.   
  
They both pulled away, breathless.  
  
"Cloud?" Aeris called his name.   
  
"Yeah?" He asked, slightly dazed.   
  
"Hold me."   
  
Cloud wrapped his strong arms around her, both of them closed their eyes and drifted to sleep and each other's arms.  
  
"Cloud... Aeris..." Tifa opend the door, seeing the two huddled together. She stopped in the middle of her sentence and looked at them. All she could do was smile. "Goodnight."  
  
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Yay, I finished. I've been working on it for four days straight and I had to finish it before I loosed my mind! Heh, ano, ano, it's WEIRD, heh, but, oh well.... ^.~'  
  
Thanks.  
  
~ Crystal  
  
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End file.
